Rare 1865 baseball card sells for $80,000

Massachusetts buyer gives top bid

Published 2:28 PM EST Feb 07, 2013

BIDDEFORD, Maine -

A 19th century baseball card has a new home after selling for $80,000 at auction in Biddeford on Wednesday night.

The 148-year-old baseball card went to a Jason LeBlanc, of Massachusetts, who said it was an investment for his son with special needs. The widower hopes to sell it for a bigger price when his son is older.

Troy Thibodeau, manager and auctioneer at Saco River Auction Co. in Biddeford, said the card depicting the Brooklyn Atlantics amateur baseball club drew plenty of interest Wednesday night. It starting with an opening bid of $10,000.

The card isn't the same as a modern-day baseball card, which became common in the 1880s. Rather, it's an original photograph from 1865 mounted on a card, showing nine players and a manager.

The Library of Congress has a similar baseball card of the team, but with a different photo.

The auction house said a man found the card inside an old photo album he bought while antique picking in the town of Baileyville in Washington County.

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